World War II could have been avoided if the Western democracies had sold arms to Spain in the Spanish Civil War, John Gates, an officer of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and a former Communist, said last night at the Kirkland House Forum.

If the Republic had been supplied enough arms, Mussolini and Hitler, who were supporting the Fascist forces in Spain, would have suffered their first defeat. Gates contended that Hitler's victory in Spain strengthened him for his advance against the West.

Subsequent United States' support of the Franco regime was attacked by Allen Guttmann of Amherst College. "When Dwight D. Eisenhower went to Madrid and shook hands with Franco--the first head of state to do so since Hitler--I felt there was something wrong. When we put bases in Spain, I felt ashamed to be an American."

Gates added that "I think Franco's going to be overthrown and I think democracy will come back into power in Spain. I hope we in America will help democracy return to Spain."

He said that the United States government has identified itself with the Franco regime and because of this there is little love for the U.S. in Spain.